Med Board Fines Hamden, West Haven Doctors

The state Medical Examining Board Tuesday disciplined four doctors, including fining a Hamden doctor $3,500 for allowing medical assistants to give patients medication, including a nasal anesthetic.

The board also reprimanded the physician, Craig Hecht, an ear, nose and throat doctor, after the state Department of Public Health found he failed to maintain appropriate infection controls in his Madison office, a consent order he signed with the board said. The order said he kept expired medications, failed to follow proper sterilization procedures and failed to keep appropriate sterilization records.

Hecht also has offices in Hamden and Milford, but the problems were confined to his Madison office, the order said. Hecht chose not to contest the allegations while admitting no wrongdoing. Since the DPH investigation, his plan to correct the problems in the Madison office has been accepted by the state.

On Tuesday, the board reprimanded and fined a West Haven doctor $1,000 for failing to address a patient’s weight loss and substance abuse in 2016, DPH records show.

The board also placed the license of Dr. Elvin L. Griffith on probation for four months and ordered him to complete courses in documenting medical care and the management of a patient with substance abuse, records show.

Griffith signed a consent order with the board in which he chose not to contest the allegations while admitting no wrongdoing.

Board member Michele Jacklin was the only member to vote against the Hecht and Griffith penalties and said she did so because the fines imposed on the doctors were “ridiculously low.”

The board also suspended the medical license of Dr. David S. Parnas, a family medicine physician from Westport who has been disciplined in the past for heavy alcohol use, for two months and placed his license on probation for five years.

A memorandum of decision approved by the board says that Parnas failed to submit the results of drug and alcohol tests to DPH between March and June of 2017 in violation of an earlier, four-year probation with the board.

Parnas told state officials that he cannot afford to pay for the tests, records show, and at Tuesday’s meeting, he told the board that his family is on public assistance.

The board reprimanded Dr. David Shenker of Natick, Massachusetts in connection with allegations that he failed to maintain adequate medical records and deviated from the standard of care for three patients in 2013 in New York state, a consent order he signed with the Connecticut board said. He chose not to contest the allegations against him.

In 2017, New York officials had placed his medical license on probation in connection with the allegations, DPH records show.

State law allows the board to discipline doctors who hold Connecticut medical licenses if they have been disciplined by other states. Shenker does not practice medicine in Connecticut, DPH records show.

Dr. Crag Hecht was recommended to me about 10 or so years ago to remove a tumor in my neck. Oh he operated alright – but he failed to remove the tumor! I had to have a 2nd operation and the 2nd doctor not only removed it – but told me that Hecht cut me open the wrong direction!!!!! I was suppose to have only a 2 to 3 inch scar down my neck and it turned out to be much longer because of him!

A young nurse lost her life after having sinus surgery done by this man. He continued to operate on her after a serious anesthesia reaction occurred . Then lied about when 911 was called in this north haven surgical outpatient setting . Ultimately she lost her life over what should have been a straight forward surgical procedure. His license should be removed so he is unable to continue practicing medicine!!!

why is it when these doctors who were put on probation violated their probation and they are still allowed to practice medicine? And one with the excuse that his family is on State so what there was a lot of us that are and we still managed to obey the laws. They are not God and they should have there medical license revoked. If anyone else broke their probation they would gets thrown in jail. And what is it with this Hecht he has gotten away with many Medical problems. Why wasn’t his license revoked? So they walk away with a slap on the wrist. What is this country coming to when you can’t even trust your own doctor and when he does wrong all he does is get fined and not a huge fine. I think someone who is higher up should step in on these cases and get their license is revoked. When you can’t trust yo When you can’t trust your doctor who the hell can you trust?

You are totally correct. I worked in Corrections in SC and my job was interviewing incoming inmates. So many people returned to prison because they did not follow the rules of their probation. I also realized that rich people who could afford a great attorney received a lesser sentence for THE SAME CRIME, than those who could had a court-ordered attorney. It is so, so wrong and unfair to society to let these doctors off so easily. I may be misinformed but I believe it is the American Medical Association that governs medical doctors. This doesn’t make sense. An unbiased party should be governing and investigating medical doctors.

I went to Dr Hecht for noise in one ear. Sent me for an MRI (in case I had a brain tumor). Had the MRI done. After 10 days I called for a report. Two days later an assistant called and told me I didn’t have a brain tumor. He never spoke to me to explain what the MRI showed. I asked the assistant what I should do next and was told there was nothing that could be done (per the doctor). The results were recorded the next day. He just didn’t bother to call me. He should not be practicing.

I had a neck surgery there 5 yrs ago. After that I had CDIFF I was told it didn’t come from there by the dr. Every year I get a scope and end up with diarrhea for months after. I mentioned their sterilization system may not be up to code but was shut down again by the dr. Since the surgery I have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. I was perfectly fine before my surgery I wAs scheduled for another scope and felt too stressed to go again and I cancelled the appt. now I’m glad I did

I came in to see Dr Hecht for some persistent nasal and throat issues on a few occasions awhile back. During conversation he abruptly cut me off and would not listen, instead making me feel like I didn’t know what I was talking about and decided that he needed to do some scoping.
After reading this article, it was the Medical Assistant who anesthetized me and not Dr Hecht. Had I not read this article I would not have known that the Medical Assistants were not medically qualified to do this.
Like others have mentioned after the initial visit he was not so pleasant, kind or compassionate.
Very sad to me!

Wow! Unreal..I’m sitting in the Yale Emergency Clinic , with my 92 year old mother-at 3:30 am because of a totally inept silver nitrate cauterization proceedure he did on her 2 days ago! He also violently tried to clean her ears.
She’s a rock during most medical procedures but he had her screaming in pain.
We are informing Yale Hospital of these issues and may seek legal counsel.
After seeing a list of his criminal convictions, I can’t imagine he shouldn’t be disbarred. How does the AMA allow this to go on?!!!!! A fine of $3500 is ridiculous. Shame on you Dr. Mengele Hecht!

Four nurses, all of them affiliated with a Derby pain clinic, were responsible for nearly all of the state’s 2014 Medicare spending on the powerful opioid painkiller Subsys, which is at the center of a kickback probe.